Top Stories category, Page 118
‘It’s hard not to break’: Daughter of Plum house explosion victims continues to grieve without closureVideo
Wherever Taylor Oravitz goes, her childhood home goes with her. The Plum native had her Rustic Ridge Drive home’s GPS coordinates tattooed on her forearm, though not for nostalgia’s sake. Rather, it’s a kind of memorial in ink and flesh. On Aug. 12, 2023, a massive explosion at her family’s...
‘Series of failures’: Lawsuit blames fatal Plum house explosion on pipeline leak, water heaterVideo
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was originally published on July 23. It’s being reposted on the two-year anniversary of the tragedy in Plum. Families of the six people killed in a 2023 house explosion in Plum’s Rustic Ridge subdivision have sued multiple companies for negligence and wrongful death, blaming them for...
Coca-Cola confirms cane-sugar version of its trademark cola is coming to U.S.
Coca-Cola said Tuesday it will add a cane-sugar version of its trademark cola to its U.S. lineup this fall, confirming a recent announcement by President Donald Trump. Trump said in a social media post last week that Coca-Cola had agreed to use real cane sugar in its flagship product in...
Mine-related sinkhole opens in Monessen
The 3-by-3-foot steel plate on State Road in Monessen may not look like much, but what it covers underground is much larger. Monessen officials have issued an emergency declaration in order to address a 12-by-15 hole caused by mine subsidence. “It almost looks like one of the old mine ‘portal’...
Baby’s death spurs homicide charge against Pittsburgh teen already accused of child abuse
Police have charged a Pittsburgh teenager with homicide in the death of the 10-month-old son of the person he was dating. Dominick Pinnick, 18, of Homewood had been under arrest since Sunday on attempted homicide and other charges after police said he abused and critically injured the baby when he...
Well, Well (Market): Downtown Pittsburgh to get new grocery store
A new grocery store is coming to Downtown Pittsburgh, the Downtown Neighbors Alliance announced Tuesday. The new store, Well Well Market, is expected to open at 817 Liberty Ave. In a statement, the Downtown Neighbors Alliance, a community-based nonprofit, said it has been looking to attract a grocery store as...
Lawyers ask Pa. Supreme Court to clamp down on Washington County DA’s use of death penalty
A team of defense attorneys on Tuesday asked the state Supreme Court to restrict Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh from pursuing the death penalty — accusing him of using capital punishment to coerce plea agreements and cooperation from defendants, and to earn political capital among supporters. The petition for...
Teen victim identified in head-on crash in Washington County
One person died in a head-on collision Tuesday morning in Washington County, authorities say. The Washington County Coroner was called around 5:30 a.m. to Route 40, near the road’s intersection with Valley View Road, in North Bethlehem on a report of the crash, a 911 dispatcher told TribLive. The corner’s...
Elimination of a $200 tax could transform nation’s gun regulations
A seemingly small change to a federal law that has regulated some firearms for more than 80 years could be an open door for lawsuits with the potential to transform gun regulations. Part of President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” rolls back to zero a federal excise tax on certain...
Gun owners welcome elimination of tax on gun suppressors, expect increased demand
Willis Paul recently bought his 27th gun suppressor. He said he has collected the accessories for the past five years and, in that time, has shelled out $5,400 in excise taxes. But after changes to the National Firearms Act in the recently enacted One Big Beautiful Bill Act take effect...
Pittsburgh woman accused of working as nurse without license at area nursing homes
A Pittsburgh woman is accused of working as a nurse although she lacked professional licensing when she was employed at nine Western Pennsylvania nursing homes between Oct. 1, 2024, and April 2 — including one facility in Westmoreland County and three in Allegheny County. State police said Shannon Nicole Womack,...
Federal judge gives ex-officer nearly 3 years in Breonna Taylor raid
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A federal judge on Monday sentenced a former Kentucky police officer to nearly three years in prison for using excessive force during the 2020 deadly Breonna Taylor raid, declining a U.S. Department of Justice recommendation that he be given no prison time. Brett Hankison, who fired 10...
Jeannette man seeks to withdraw guilty plea in 2019 fatal shooting outside McKee Stadium
A Jeannette man accused in a fatal shooting outside the city high school’s football stadium told a Westmoreland County judge Monday that he was misled when he pleaded guilty to third-degree murder. Greg Harper, 46, is seeking to withdraw the guilty plea he entered in 2022, claiming his then-defense attorney...
Overdoses lead to Pa. crackdown on nitazenes, a powerful class of opioids
The Pennsylvania Department of Health has criminalized nitazenes, a class of synthetic opioids that can be even stronger than fentanyl, as overdose deaths in the state mount. Nitazenes are temporarily labeled a Class I controlled substance as of Saturday, meaning it’s illegal to possess, distribute or manufacture them in the...
West Nile virus detected in Allegheny County, 7 neighborhoods to get sprayed
After mosquito samples tested positive for West Nile Virus, the Allegheny County Health Department announced today that seven neighborhoods will be treated this week. On Thursday from 8 to 11 p.m., residents in the Hazelwood, South Side Slopes, Arlington, Mt. Oliver, Carrick, Knoxville and Beltzhoover areas should expect to see...
Fatal barrage of gunfire on North Side ends with last of 6 defendants pleading guilty
The last of six defendants charged with killing a man on Pittsburgh’s North Side in a barrage of gunfire in 2022 pleaded guilty on Monday in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court. Rayvon Poellnitz, 23, will serve 15 to 40 years in state prison after pleading guilty to third-degree murder before...
Teen tells judge Derry Township couple’s abuse ‘ruined my life’
A teen told a Westmoreland County judge that years of physical abuse suffered at the hands of a Derry Township couple will have a lasting impact and left a permanent disfigurement. “It hurt so bad every day. It ruined my life pretty much, what they did,” the teen, now 16,...
Trump administration releases FBI records on MLK Jr. despite his family’s opposition
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has released records of the FBI’s surveillance of Martin Luther King Jr., despite opposition from the slain Nobel laureate’s family and the civil rights group that he led until his 1968 assassination. The digital document dump includes more than 240,000 pages of records that had...
Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese releases photos of church vandalism
The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh on Monday released photos showing recent vandalism at Saint Elizabeth of Hungary Church in Baldwin Borough in hopes that it will encourage anyone with information to come forward. The diocese said the vandalism, which officials described as anti-Catholic and antisemitic, was discovered at the church...
Unions rallying in Pittsburgh pitch Trump ‘chaos’ as chance to grow ranks
Union heavyweights pitched their organizations Monday at a Downtown Pittsburgh rally as not just detractors of the second Trump administration, but vehicles for a unified opposition. “We’re saying: ‘Look to the labor movement,’ ” Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, told TribLive after the event. “We are the ones that...
North Huntingdon teen drowns in kayak accident in Erie
. Funeral arrangements have been set for a 17-year-old North Huntingdon girl who drowned in a kayak accident off Presque Isle in Lake Erie Friday night, the Erie County coroner said. The body of Madison Gallagher was found Sunday afternoon near the base of Presque Isle, where she was pronounced...
Mom sues Upper St. Clair psych hospital over alleged rape of her child by fellow patient
The mother of a 10-year-old boy who said he was raped by another patient at Southwood Psychiatric Hospital is suing the facility. The complaint, filed Monday in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, alleges negligence against the children’s mental health hospital located on Boyce Plaza Road in Upper St. Clair. A...
Allegheny County Jail suspends corrections officer over racist video
An Allegheny County Jail corrections officer has been suspended following the discovery of a video purportedly showing him making a racist comment about Black people while holding a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire. Brian Davis, who has worked at the jail since March 2020, was suspended Monday after officials...
Pittsburgh Regional Transit starts ticketing drivers in Downtown bus lanes
Pittsburgh Regional Transit this weekend started ticketing motorists who drive or park in designated bus lanes Downtown. The new bus-only lanes — which are distinguished by their bright red markings — are reserved for buses and emergency vehicles. Private vehicles are barred from entering the lanes, even for brief pick-ups,...
Annual 5K at Pittsburgh International Airport canceled amid renovations
An annual 5K race held at Pittsburgh International Airport has been canceled this year because of construction at the airport’s new terminal. Event organizer P3R — best known for hosting the Dick’s Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon — announced the FlyBy 5K and 2-Mile Fun Run/Walk will take a one-year hiatus....
